Descent to Madness
by Sunset Moth
Summary: Post-war. Wherein Ty Lee finds the Kyoshi life tiring and decides to take up the Fire Lord’s offer and become the new Warden of the Boiling Rock prison. Full summary inside. Insane!Azula/Ty Lee and Toph/?


Descent to Madness

Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, own Avatar the Last Airbender. If I did, it wouldn't be suitable as a show for very young children.

**Summary:** Post-war. Wherein Ty Lee finds the Kyoshi life tiring and decides to take up the Fire Lord's offer and become the new Warden of the Boiling Rock prison where the inhabitants number to three: one cabbage-obsessed cook, one soldier suffering from cactus juice overdose, and one very insane princess. Toph, greatest earthbender in the world and an apprentice metalsmith, accompanies her as her bodyguard and to study the great Boiling Rock's metallic structure.

* * *

Stiff fingers were wrapped around the steel cables of the mini-airship, dreaming of warmth and movement. They would twitch occasionally but their hold never wavered nor relaxed. With the wind particularly strong today despite the promised warm weather of summer approaching, Ty Lee had to make sure that her hands were secure. Sitting besides her was a thirteen-year old girl who clung to her leg, a look of complete disgust on her face. "Some day, I swear by whoever Earth god out there is listening that I will make land bridges every where so that we don't have to ride these accursed balloons anymore!" The earthbender cried out and quickly slapped her hand against her mouth, struggling to keep her breakfast inside her stomach where it belonged.

"But what fun would that be, Toph?" Ty Lee teased, squinting as she stared up at the passing clouds. "Besides, it'd take so much more time if we traveled by foot, don't you think?"

"I don't care if I reach that place by the time I'm old enough to be someone's grandma," the young teen shot back. "Even riding Appa wasn't this bad!"

"Well I'm sorry if the airship isn't to your taste, Ma'am," sneered the only firebender present. "Perhaps you could ask this Appa friend of yours to bring you there next time."

"If only it was that easy," Toph grumbled, waving a hand around as if something stunk. She closed her eyes and yawned before burying her forehead against skinny knees.

"Well look at the bright side," the lithe acrobat spoke with the syrupy cheerfulness that usually accompanied her voice, "at least you won't have to tolerate us on the way back!"

The firebender blushed at directly being spoken to by one of the Fire Lord's closest allies. He ducked his head and focused on keeping the fire going, trying not to steal glances of the other girl. He knew it was wrong of him to be disrespectful, especially considering the fact that they were both very important people in the eyes of the Fire Nation but the task was quite frustrating to say the least and he was not in the mood to be kind to anyone.

It was another hour before the great towering walls of Boiling Rock prison greeted them. The sedimentary rock that lined the outer wall stood imposingly while metal of the highest quality served as the inner wall. By then, they had fallen into a weary silence, having tired of small talk that had previously filled the air.

"We're here!" Ty Lee took a deep breath and closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. _I'm sorry it took so long, Azula._

* * *

"Good afternoon, ladies! Enjoyed the quirky weather we've been having lately?" A squeaky voice inquired from behind the massive gates. The sound of fumbling and a key dropping to the ground could also be heard.

"Oh yes! We had so much fun during the trip," Ty Lee answered first, beating Toph's reply which was most likely going to turn out as a complaint. "The breeze was refreshing and the clouds looked funny! I thought I saw one shaped like a skunkbear!"

The head of an old man wearing a green turban appeared from the narrow opening to greet them after the gates had finally been opened. He beckoned them inside with a flick of his head. Ty Lee took the lead.

"There are only three of us here, though I think you know that already. There's me, Kisu, the cook in this place, Changpu, our resident soldier—and younger son of the ex-Admiral Chan but please, don't tell anyone you heard that from me—and of course there's the princess who's a tad bit insane.

"Since you're Warden, you get to sleep up there,"—Kisu pointed to a steel tower that bore the emblem of the Fire Nation—"Unless you prefer to stay somewhere else, o' course. With an earthbender with us now, I think we can make the other rooms here a bit more…accommodating since this place is mostly made of stone. The Fire Lord was also gracious enough to dump—I mean, to donate—some old furniture. With your command, we can surely make this place more to your liking."

The cook continued to explain about the Boiling Rock's many rooms and functions—like the legendary Coolers—as well as the feeding hours and general schedule of the whole crew. He talked about the former Warden as well; a short stout kindly waterbender who had studied some of the Mind-healing Arts that had become a bit popular ever since talk of Ba Sing Se and the machinations that had taken place there had spread. The woman had helped somewhat with the princess's conditions but had to leave about a week ago due to her fiancée who was extremely concerned about her safety. It seemed that some people still fear the Fire princess, despite the Fire Lord's reassurance that they were quite safe from her.

Eventually, they followed a path that lead to the kitchen where the cook made them some wonderful cabbage rolls and cabbage soup. Ty Lee noticed that the whole place seemed to be full of cabbages but made no comment, instead inquiring about whether or not Mr. Changpu would be joining them for dinner.

"Oh, he's a bit shy…our Changpu," Kisu spoke hastily. "You'll be seeing him tomorrow when he's in a better mood. For now, it's only just us four." To the firebender, he said, "You'll be leaving tomorrow morning, I assume?"

"Yeah," the firebender said, examining his soup skeptically.

"Alrighty! That means I'll be making some extra cabbage sandwiches for tomorrow so that you can pack some for when you get hungry during the trip."

"Is it just me…or do you have a thing with cabbages?" Toph asked as she bit a roll enthusiastically. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. These are really good!"

"Oh, I used to be a cabbage merchant until I realized that the job was doing me more harm than good, what with the war loomin' around the corner." Kisu said nonchalantly, slopping a handful of soup onto Ty Lee's bowl. "So I thought of doing something else. And here I am now. Charming story, isn't it?"

The former Kyoshi warrior nodded numbly, staring at the contents of her soup. "Can I…can I see Azula today? Before I at least go to bed?" She found herself asking. Brown eyes met black.

"I knew you'd ask, Miss Ty Lee," Kisu sighed and slumped against his chair. "The Fire Lord did say you'd be eager to see her; 'twas foolish of me to try and prolong it. If you want to see her, I can bring you there later…if you don't, the rooms are up that staircase and to your left. I'm sure the earthbender knows where her room is, what with the amount of playthings left there. His Majesty seems awfully fond of you."

Toph beamed, "We had our moments." To Ty Lee she said in a lesser happy tone, "I know I'm supposed to be your bodyguard and all but I'm thinking you want to see her by yourself just now. Am I thinking wrong here?"

"Not at all."

* * *

_Ty Lee examined the painting near the Fire Lord's desk, her eyes bright with unshed tears. It was a portrait that had been made during their stay at Ember Island. The foursome looked to be in good spirits…as if nothing in the world could stop them…as if nothing in the world could ever break their friendship._

_Sometimes Ty Lee still wondered what would have happened if she hadn't betrayed Azula at that last moment. Would Azula still be sane afterwards? Would Mai have died from the princess's wrathful flames? Ty Lee wished another way had presented itself but only betrayal was visible at that time in her mind's eye. She didn't want Mai hurt…and she didn't want Azula stepping past the boundaries between human and monster. She may think that she was already a monster then—especially considering the fact that her mother thought of her that way—but Ty Lee knew that she was only just another victim. _

"_I'm sorry if I made you wait," Zuko spoke, shaking Ty Lee from her thoughts. She straightened and bowed briefly._

"_Fire Lord Zuko."_

"_None of the formalities now, Ty Lee," Zuko nodded to a chair in front of his desk. "We're friends and friends are supposed to be informal with each other. Besides, I don't like how Fire Lord feels like a permanent prefix to my name."_

_Ty Lee suppressed a giggle. "It's nice to see you too, Zuko."_

"_I'd like to skip the pleasantries if you don't mind," the Fire Lord drawled and rested his chin against an ink-stained hand. "Is it true that you've quit the Kyoshi warriors?"_

"_Yes…It was fun at first, but it reminded me a little bit too much of home. You know how it was back then when I was a child; my sisters and I all looked identical and it was very hard for me to find my own place in the world. Becoming a Kyoshi warrior…it was the same thing. We all dressed alike…did the same drills together…liked the same guy…it felt like I was losing me all over again. I just couldn't handle it."_

_A nod of sympathy. "And what do you plan to do now? There are a lot of choices for someone of your caliber—"_

"_Been listening to those hags for too long, Zuko?" Ty Lee cut in, "You're beginning to sound like the twins."_

"_Ty Lee." The voice sounded threatening enough, but the acrobat knew her friend was merely annoyed._

"_I want to go and see Azula. Maybe…maybe I can somehow help cure her of her insanity."_

_Silence made Ty Lee fidget. Before she could speak though, Zuko said, "Do you really think you can?" He laughed a second after asking and waved Ty Lee's biting comment aside, "I'm sure you can. And I'm glad you offered too. The current Warden is quitting and I had been given the _agonizing _task of finding her a replacement. I'm sure you will do some good. Azula, as you know, is imprisoned in Boiling Rock. A decision I had made ever since I began sorting the prisoners and putting them to use by doing community work. You will need a bodyguard…"_

"Miss Ty Lee?"

She patted Kisu's shoulder and tilted her head. "I think I can take it from here. You should go to bed, Kisu. It's getting late."

A look of concern was the only answer she got.

"Shoo. I mean it." This was met with raised eyebrows.

She took a moment to brace herself—once Kisu was gone—and reminded herself that this was insane Azula she was going to face…not the perfect cold-blooded princess she knew all those years ago. She tugged at her single pigtail and allowed herself the luxury of feeling nervous. _Here goes nothing. _

The door creaked when she pushed it open. Ty Lee's immediate thought was to ask Toph or Kisu to have it oiled as soon as possible but the thought quickly vanished when she saw the disheveled state Azula was in.

Gone were the princess's long raven-black curls; they were just stubble now…like ashes after the fire had burned out. Her once pretty cheekbones were gaunt—probably from poor eating habits. Her eyes were dark-rimmed and empty. Drool clung to her lower lip. Dust and dirt covered her dangerously thin body. She wore only a loose black tunic as a dress and nothing more. Was she even wearing any undergarments? Ty Lee looked away, feeling ashamed that she had not even thought of visiting her old friend sooner. Was she responsible for this? Did Azula turn out this way because she turned her back on her friend?

She approached the prison with practiced stealth, her eyes focusing on the small black chains that were clamped tightly against the girl's wrists and ankles. Was she even getting any exercise? Her nose twitched at the smell of human leavings and sweat. They didn't even clean this place! Outrage overtook her for a moment but years of disciplining her emotions had won out almost immediately after. Tomorrow morning she would have Azula moved to a different place.

She touched the prison bars lightly and leaned her forehead against them. For now, she was just content at watching the other woman sleep, curled up in a fetus position. The girl would speak of random things in sporadic intervals, things that Ty Lee hoped she would make sense of soon. She bit her lip and blinked hard. _I'm here, Azula. I've come to save you._

* * *

The Boiling Rock prison was indeed a beautiful place and Toph—her back against the wall—savored the feel of stone, hundreds of years old, underneath her feet. Ever since she took up the King of Omashu's offer at studying some of the other lesser known arts of earthbending, Toph's sense of perception had increased by a hundredfold. She could, quite literally, know everything that was going on in the prison if she wished.

She was quite glad for the bed that had been set up in her room. She was more used to sleeping on the ground of course, but with a heightened awareness, being able to feel every little thing was more of a curse than a gift, especially if she let her mental defenses down. Standing up, she took a deep stretch and cocked her head, searching for the gentle vibrations that were Ty Lee's unique keyprint. She found the girl near a different keyprint of vibrations, one that was filled with negativity and unease. She wasn't surprised about that; the acrobat _had_ wanted to see Azula after all. What did surprise her was that Ty Lee had let her guard down in front of the princess. For some reason, she seemed to have fallen asleep.

Toph sighed. She considered carrying the girl back to bed but quickly thought otherwise. Even with the sudden growth spurt she had a couple of months back, she would still have trouble carrying Ty Lee by herself. She didn't even think of earthbending the girl to her room because such things were noisy to do and would have awoken the slumbering princess. Now _that _was a scary thought. For now, she simply hoped that Ty Lee's sleep would be a peaceful one.

* * *

The bar was as lively as usual. Old veterans were singing off-key songs that were not meant for younger ears; Lady Haruhi was nursing a glass in the corner, thinking plots on how to get rid of her current husband—this was all rumors of course—foolish Taro was picking a fight with one of the other patrons; and some drunk was hopelessly losing against a master of Pai Sho. Same old, same old.

In the midst of the chaos, a young woman was having an arm-wrestling match with a well-muscled young man with little hair on top and a scraggly beard which seemed to make up for that. Currently, the man was sweating heavily, his clothes clinging to his skin like a fangirl to a famous actor. She swiftly brought the man's fist down and plucked a crumpled-up paper which carried most of her income for that night. Metal clinked against metal as she took out the hard-earned cash, to be placed inside her own more-securely made pouch. She paused for a moment to stare at the writings on the piece of paper and raised an eyebrow in mild interest. Rolling the piece of paper, she tucked it in her belt and resolved to seek out the concerned parents of the missing child that had been described on the parchment. An item which the girl owned would make hunting her _much_ easier after all. The young woman, still in her late teens, smirked at the thought of new prey. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

A/N: Admittedly, this is not my best work and, if I could somehow make this any better, I would but with so many things running amok in my brain right now, I knew that I had to get this posted so that I could work on my other fics without feeling like I've just ditched this. Of course, Behind the Mask is still one of my major priorities (among other titles), but the idea of an insane!Azula going through rehabilitation was one of the things I wanted to write after I watched the last few episodes of Avatar. Yes, this story will probably have a lot of spoilers in it so if you don't want to get spoiled then it's best that you don't read this.

I would like to say thank you to a lot of people out there who are writing fics like this as well for providing me with the inspiration to write my own. There's also Panda (I don't know what to call you, harharhar.) who gave me the perfect pairing for Toph.

Also, a salute to anyone who can guess who Kisu is and who Toph will end up with. (Though I'm pretty sure both are obvious.)


End file.
